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In real life, Velociraptor was a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period which inhabited what is now the Mongolia-China border with other unique dinosaurs. Velociraptor was no bigger than a wolf and with its feathers it bore a very bird-like appearance that would make it all the more different from the films, being more akin to a flightless hawk. It had a long claw ("terrible claw") on the second toe of both feet, 8 centimeters (3 inches) long, which was probably used as a weapon, plunging into the flesh of victims and causing deep wounds. Velociraptor was the first dromaeosaurid to be discovered (1923) and is still the most well known to paleontologists, with over a dozen recovered fossil skeletons - the most of any other member of its family. Since its appearance in the first film, it has become a symbol of Jurassic Park and has appeared in all the films and games.
In the Jurassic Park universe, the "Velociraptor" is after the genus of another dromaeosaurid dinosaur known as Deinonychus. The films, like the novels, followed the unusual taxonomy created by Gregory S. Paul, who believed that Deinonychus, as well as a few other species of dromaeosaurids, could be classified under the genus "Velociraptor".[1] As for the large size of the raptors, the novel raptors were sized up for an unknown reason by author Michael Crichton while the movie raptors were made larger per Steven Spielberg's request as he was unimpressed by the size of Deinonychus.[2]
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Wikipedia has a more detailed and comprehensive article on Velociraptor |
Movies[]
Main article: Velociraptor/Films
Velociraptor is one of the most popular dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park movie media. The Velociraptor featured in the films aren't the actual animal, but rather appear to be their own separate species judging by the Holoscape in Jurassic World.[3][4] Velociraptors have a major role in the first six movies, having a minor role in the seventh film. Before the release of Jurassic Park, most people had never heard of raptors.[citation needed]
Velociraptors are often seen hunting in packs, which they are actually believed to have done in real life despite no firm evidence. They are portrayed as being highly intelligent (as stated by Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park III, "smarter than dolphins or whales; smarter than primates."), capable of setting traps and communicating with other pack members, and being able to escape their paddock without Dennis Nedry’s assistance. Because of this, the main paleontologist/protagonist of the franchise, Dr. Alan Grant, is very interested in the raptors.
Female raptor from Jurassic Park.
Male raptor from The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Velociraptor is the first dinosaur seen in Jurassic Park. The first scene features a raptor being transported into the paddock. In the second half of the movie, the raptors break out of their pen and are the main threat that stands between the humans and their means of escaping the island, with the raptors seeking to kill them. One of them is able to outsmart Robert Muldoon, sneaking up on him while he had his SPAS-12 shotgun fixed on another.
Male and female raptors from Jurassic Park III.
In the second movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a Velociraptor pack inhabits the abandoned Village on Isla Sorna. The humans, who are stranded on the island, have to run and fight their way through the raptors to reach the phone in the village and reach the helicopter. Nearly all of the Velociraptors (save for one)[5] in this film are more brightly coloured compared to the completely brown raptors in the first film. This is never explained in the film itself, but behind the scenes material has stated that the colored raptors were the males of the species.[6]
IBRIS Project raptors from Jurassic World.
In Jurassic Park III, the raptors have more colour schemes. The upper half of their bodies are colored purple with stripes of other colors. The males of these raptors had quills on the top of their heads. In general they had crests with more elongated and pointed skulls.[7] The raptors are stalking the humans to retrieve stolen eggs.
Female Mantah Corp raptors
In Jurassic World, a pack of Velociraptors have each of their own names, Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo, and are trained by Owen Grady. These raptors each have their unique personalities and skin colors and even head anatomy.[8] InGen, the company that cloned the dinosaurs, wants to use the raptors for military applications. The raptors are used to hunt down the Indominus rex. These raptors show a lot more variation in coloration between individuals. This is also the first time raptors developed a personal bond with humans.
Blue in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Blue the raptor returns in the film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, making her the first returning Velociraptor character. Early in the story, she was stated to be the last known member of her genus/species, but her life is in danger from the impending eruption of Mount Sibo. She is ultimately apprehended (and unintentionally injured) by mercenaries under the employ of the Lockwood estate who require Blue's DNA for a new genetically modified hybrid, the Indoraptor.
A Velociraptor model in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
The museum at Lockwood Manor contains a life-size diorama of a confrontation between a statue Velociraptor and a statue Dilophosaurus. Owen, Clare, and Maisie Lockwood snuck through the dioramas to escape the Indoraptor when the lights were disabled until they were reactivated while they were in this particular diorama, exposing them to the Indoraptor who wrecked the diorama and knocked down the statues. The statue raptor is similar to the male raptors in The Lost World: Jurassic Park in terms of design and color.
Velociraptors as seen in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.
For Jurassic World: Dominion, Blue returns this time with her own juvenile Velociraptor Beta whom gets captured by Biosyn. One of the Jurassic Park III Isla Sorna Velociraptor's tails can be seen at the Amber Clave Night Market in Malta.
In Jurassic World Rebirth, two Velociraptors resembling the Jurassic Park III variant appear on Ile Saint-Hubert and are seen stalking Xavier Dobbs. But one is killed and taken away by a Mutadon as the other one run away into the jungle.
Blue and Beta as seen in Jurassic World: Dominion.
Theme Parks[]
The raptors appeared near the end of Jurassic Park: River Adventure, where they are shown to have recently escaped, and are now tearing up the area. During Universal's Annual Halloween Horror Nights which took place at Islands of Adventure for the first time in 2002, the Jurassic Park island became JP: Extinction, and of course, with all the dinosaurs unleashed out of their paddocks, there were several scare-actors dressed up as raptors, hiding in the bushes, waiting to scare the unsuspecting tourists.
Appearances[]
In chronological order:[]
Jurassic Park (First Appearance)[]
- The Big One (First Appearance and Last Appearance/Death)
- Randy (First Appearance and Last Appearance)
- Kim (First Appearance and Last Appearance/Death)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park[]
- Raptor pack
Jurassic Park III[]
- Raptor pack led by Alpha Female and Alpha Male
Jurassic World[]
- Blue (First Appearance)
- Delta (First Appearance and Last Appearance/Death)
- Echo (First Appearance and Last Appearance/Death)
- Charlie (First Appearance and Last Appearance/Death)
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous[]
Season 1[]
- Camp Cretaceous (Video Game version) (Blue, Delta, Echo and Charlie)
- Secrets (Blue, Delta, Echo and Charlie)
- End of the Line (Blue; Cameo Appearance)
Season 2[]
- A Beacon of Hope (Blue; Cameo Appearance)
- Step One (Blue; Cameo Appearance)
- Chaos Theory (Blue; Cameo Appearance)
Season 3[]
- Clever Girl (Blue)
- Eye of the Storm (Picture in book)
- The Long Run (Drawing)
- Escape from Isla Nublar (Blue)
Season 4[]
- The Long Game (Two Raptors)
- Mission Critical (Two Raptors)
- Staying Alive (Mentioned)
- Technical Difficulties (Two Raptors)
- Dino-Sitting (Two Raptors) (Video Game version)
Season 5[]
- Reunited (Two Raptors)
- The Final Test (Two Raptors)
- Battle Lines (Two Raptors)
- Out of the Pack (Blue)
- The Last Stand (Two Raptors)
- The Nublar Six (Three Raptors)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom[]
- Blue (Adult and Infant)
- Blue's Pack (Infants)
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory[]
Season 1[]
- Into the Fog (One Raptor)
Season 3[]
- Undercover (Two Raptors)
- Active Pursuit (One Raptor)
Jurassic World: Dominion[]
- Blue (Last Appearance)
- Beta (First Appearance/Last Appearance)
Jurassic World: Rebirth[]
- Two Raptors
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Internet meme "Philosoraptor" is a satirical representation of the Velociraptor and their implied intelligence.
- The Velociraptor in the Dangerous Games adapted feathers.
- Kelly, Oscar, Muldoon (Novel), Dr. Grant (Novel), the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Indominus rex, a few unseen InGen Security Troopers, and a Mutadon are the only characters in the whole franchise who succeeded in killing a Velociraptor (besides characters in video games).
- In an initial script for the climax of Jurassic Park III, when the Spinosaurus attacks the survivors' boat, Dr. Grant used the Velociraptor resonation chamber to call a pack of 20 raptors, which in turn arrive and kill the Spinosaurus by tearing its flesh. One raptor considers devouring the humans but instead spares them as it becomes preoccupied in devouring the beast.
- Despite being found in North America in the film canon, Velociraptor bones have so far never been found outside of Asia.
- The barks the Velociraptors make originated from a mating turtle.
- Many people believe that the film Velociraptor is based on the dromaeosaurid Utahraptor and not Deinonychus. This is actually the opposite case, as Utahraptor had not yet been identified when the first book and the first film were being made.
- Blue and the Jurassic Park III Velociraptors are very similar in appearance and intelligence. Both have a stripe running down their back and have high intelligence.
- With the exception of the Distortus rex, Velociraptor has been used in all of Dr. Henry Wu's hybrids, the Scorpios rex, the Mutadon (it is unknown if Wu cloned them, but InGen cloned them), the Indominus rex, and the Indoraptor.
- The Velociraptor's roars and speech were used on some of the creatures in Animal Planet's mockumentary found footage show: Lost Tapes.
References[]
- ↑ Paul, Gregory S. (1988). Predatory Dinosaurs of the World. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 464pp. ISBN 978-0671619466.
- ↑ Bakker, Robert T. (1995) Raptor Red, p. 4. (Google Books) Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books/about/Raptor_Red.html?id=6LSERLP3BFsC&source=kp_cover
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ One of the raptors seen in the attack on the Village has a different colored skin than the other two raptors. This was done intentionally as one of the animatronics created for the film bore an identical skin color.
- ↑ The Making of The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Don Shay and Jody Duncan, p. 47
- ↑ (July 18, 2001) Dino Might. Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ Desowitz, Bill. (June 28, 2015) A Breed Above. Animation Magazine.
